


Dead Ends & Skeletons

by shimmer_like_agirl



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, F/M, Pre-Relationship, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 05:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10073930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmer_like_agirl/pseuds/shimmer_like_agirl
Summary: Corso answers the call to pick up the captain after a night out and gets a glimpse into Shawnni’s past.





	

“Hey Riggs,” Risha’s voice over the ship’s intercom woke him from a light doze. “You need to go pick up the captain from some place called Casteel’s. I’m sending the coordinates to your datapad.”

With a stretch and a shake of his head, Corso attempted to shake off the lingering dregs of sleepiness. “She can’t make it back on her own?” he asked, yawning.

“If she could, she wouldn’t have asked me to send you.” Her annoyed disapproval carried over the com. “She said to leave your armor here, but to make sure everyone can see your blaster,” Risha added after a moment. “At least that’s what I think she said. It was loud and she was slurring pretty badly.”

“Okay, okay, I’m goin’.” Corso buckled his belt and made sure Sparky was stowed safely, but visibly. “You ever heard of this place?”

“No, but I checked the coordinates she gave me and it looks like it’s way down at the bottom of the sub levels. Lower than I’d ever want to go, at least. Be careful, but get her out of there. She’s the only one who can fly this ship where I need it to go.”

Corso glanced at the datapad and reached for a second blaster. Wherever this Casteel’s place was, it was on a level far lower than any they’d visited during their time here. The sub levels of Nar Shaddaa weren’t someplace he would’ve gone of his own volition, but if the captain needed him he would’ve walked through fire to get to her. “I’ll send you a holo when I find her.”

The captain was no lightweight when it came to drinking. He’d seen her drink people three times her size under the table and still be able to walk away under her own power. How bad off she had to be to call for a pick-up?

There was a taxi droid not far from the hangar that housed the ship. Corso settled back in his seat, trying to get comfortable after hearing how long it would take to get to the turbolifts closest to his destination. As had become his brain’s habit of late, his thoughts immediately drifted to Captain Devane. He’d noticed a change in her demeanor once they’d wrapped up their business on Nar Shaddaa and made it back to the ship with Bowdaar. Normally boisterous and cheerful, she’d been subdued and had spent most of the day in her own quarters. She’d left the ship hours earlier without an explanation of where she was going, refusing every offer of company on her way out. 

The taxi stopped abruptly and he jumped out, double checking the datapad once again. This was the right place. He jogged over to the turbolifts, eager to be done with this as quickly as possible. The turbolift started off with a jolt, plunging down lower and lower and lower until it came to a shuddering stop. As he stepped off the lift he was overcome with a queasiness that was only partially from the ride down. 

The neon lights prevalent everywhere on Nar Shaddaa were also here in full force, but here they highlighted a world collapsing upon itself. It had obviously been somewhat moderately functioning at some point in the past, but those days were long gone and forgotten. Dilapidated buildings lined the streets, some of them only standing because they were leaning against each other. There were no speeders or swoop bikes zipping by overhead. Those were a luxury these people couldn’t afford. Even the gangs, it appeared, had given this level a wide berth. There was no profit to be had here and it wasn’t worth the effort. 

The smells of rotten food and garbage and other...things bombarded his senses. There were vendors here and there, selling weeks old bread and what appeared to be some sort of meat on stick. Corso swallowed the urge to vomit seeing what passed as “food” down here and how eagerly this level’s inhabitants consumed what the vendors sold. 

Everything here was dirty and the filth was ingrained into every surface and on every face he saw. He had to tear his eyes from staring at the children begging along the streets. Begging or stealing from people who had nothing left to give. This was no way to live, he thought miserably. This wasn’t a place people came because they had a choice. This was where people came when they’d run out of options. 

“What brought ya to a place like this, Captain?” he asked quietly. “I got a bad feelin’ about this.”

Seeing that there were no speeders or taxis to get him to his target faster, Corso pulled up a map of the area and headed out on foot. As long as he concentrated on where he was walking, he could avoid looking at the poverty that surrounded him. He didn’t like turning a blind eye to these sorts of things, but there was nothing he could do for these people and the captain needed his help.

He was blocks away when the sounds of music, shouting and swearing drifted through the streets to his ears. It grew louder as he got closer and it didn’t exactly fill him with hope. He was no stranger to rowdy cantinas, but this cacophony had an edge to it. He could see a large group of bodies tumbling through the front door. At first, the crowd seemed content with merely shoving and boasting, but it quickly devolved as the sound of glass breaking filled the air and fists started flying every which way.

Corso slowed his approach and kept a hand on Sparky, making she sure was ready if needed. No one inside the tumultuous crowd seemed to be interested in what was going on outside the circle, however, and he was able to pass by and get through the doors without incident. Just inside the doors was a large Zabrak bouncer who appeared to be either asleep or passed out on his stool. His eyes opened slightly as Corso stepped over the long legs that were stretched in front of him and he gave the Mantellian a wary nod before his eyes closed again.

The inside of the cantina was in no better shape than the neighbourhood outside. An elaborate neon sign that had once proclaimed “Welcome to Casteel’s” now sputtered “We eel” and the remaining letters were on the verge of burning out. Everything was run down from the barstools to the waitresses serving drinks. Music screeched loudly, full of static, from every available speaker in an attempt to drown out some of the dreariness. Corso’s boots stuck to the floor as he made his way carefully around the tables, his eyes scanning for any sign of the captain. Idly he wondered how long it had been since the floor had been mopped, but decided it was better to not think about and ignore the odd squelches when he stepped.

He spotted a familiar red duster at the bar and his heart sank as he realized Shawnni was passed out cold, face down against the bartop. He called her name several times as he made his way over, but he knew there was no way she’d be able to hear him. Several leering patrons were watching her unmoving form with gross interest and grumbled in irritation when he arrived to block their view. “Captain, wake up,” he said close to her ear as he gently shook her arm. No response. He repeated the action a second and third time before she stirred slightly on her stool.

She raised her head slowly, most of her face obscured by the dark waves of her hair. Corso brushed her hair aside and turned her head so she could look directly at him. Her eyes were cloudy and unfocused and it took more than a few moments before she recognized him. “Farmboy! Knew ya would come fer me,” her words were a jumbled slur. “Tol’ ya he’d come,” she said in the direction of the bar. “Good ol’ dependable Corso. Always there when I need ‘im, ain’tcha Farmboy?” . 

“Don’t worry, Captain, I’ll get you outta here.” For a brief moment, he pondered how he’d get her back to the ship. Considering she was barely able to hold her own head up, she was more than likely unable to walk under her own power.

“She ain’t goin’ nowhere until her tab gets paid,” a gruff voice from the other side of the bar told him.

“How much?” Corso swallowed hard at the amount he was given. Well that explained her face-down-on-the-bar condition. How was she even alive if she’d drunk that much?

“You pay it and she’s all yours. Otherwise, she stays here.”

“Jus’ pay ‘im so we kin get out of here. I seem t’have lost all my credits somewhere,” she told him, patting her empty pockets for emphasis. “Don’t know where they went.”

Credits exchanged hands and it stung even though he knew she’d pay him back once she recovered. There had to be a story behind the lost credits. The captain was often careless with how she spent her creds, but she was usually smart enough to leave herself a cushion in case of emergency.

“Alright, Captain, let’s head back to the ship. Risha’s waitin’ on you.” Before he could even attempt to move her off the stool he found himself jostled roughly from behind. He turned angrily to face the surprisingly fresh faced young man that had pushed him and who was now reaching out with a hand to stroke the captain’s hair. “Get your hands off her, sleaze,” he said as he slapped the offending hand away.

“She’s so pretty,” the other man murmured to himself. To Corso he turned and said “stay out of the way, son, this don’t concern you. I’ve been waiting all night to take a crack at this one and you sure as hell ain’t gonna stop me.”

Corso’s stomach churned at the words even as he moved to put himself as a barrier between the other man and his captain’s vulnerable body. He drew Sparky from her holster, making sure the movement was visible. “Back off.”

“You her boyfriend? Got some disappointing news if you are. She told me to come find her at the end of the night. Said she would make it make it a night to remember.” The other man grinned lecherously and Corso had never wanted to punch someone as much as at that moment.

“I’m her hired muscle and these scars ain’t exactly from pickin’ flowers if you catch my meanin’,” he told him, gesturing to the visible scars on his face and neck. “The lady’s obviously in no shape to consent t’anything, no matter what she might’ve told you earlier. Step away, boy. I won’t warn you again.”

He didn’t step away. Instead, he tried to catch the Mantellian off guard with an abrupt punch, but he was too drunk and Corso too sober. Corso’s fist connected with the man’s face with a bone-splitting crunch. He stumbled and fell to his knees, blood dripping from both mouth and nose, looking up hopefully at those around him, but no one seemed overly eager to aid him. With a blaster aimed at the fallen man’s head, Corso gave him one last warning, “you come near her again and you won’t live through the night.” He glanced around at the crowd that had gathered to watch the short, but violent confrontation. “If anyone else has any inclination to stop us from leavin’ speak up now. Sparky here is just itchin’ for a fight.”

There were no takers on the offer and the onlookers quickly dispersed back into the shadows of the cantina. As Corso put his blaster away he noticed the bouncer from the door watching from a distance. The Zabrak nodded once before returning to his post. At least it looked like he wouldn’t be a problem. He turned back to the captain who swayed slightly in her seat, head bowed. “Hey, let’s get you outta here for real this time.”

Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. “Corso?” she asked, eyes squinting in his direction. “When’d ya get here? I jus’ called a few minutes ago…,” she trailed off and he worried she was on the verge of passing out again. “Oh! Can ya cover my tab? Promise I’ll pay it back.”

“Don’t worry about it, already got it covered.” 

“Oh...did we do this already?”

He nodded in answer. “Just a few minutes ago.”

“Oh...okay...I might be a liiiittle drunk.”

“You think?” Once on her feet, the captain proved to be as unsteady as he’d feared. She leaned heavily against him, knees buckling as she slowly started to slide towards the floor. Corso wrapped both arms around her in order to haul her back to her feet. “That might be the biggest understatement of the year.”

“Don’ be mad at me, Corso.”

“I ain’t mad, Captain.”

“Then why’re ya frownin’ like that? If y’ain’t careful yer gonna give yerself wrinkles.” She laughed drunkenly, then sighed. “Don’ do anythin’ t’mess up that handsome face o’ yers, Farmboy.” Her accent now was far thicker than he’d ever heard from her before.

“I’m frownin’ ‘cause I’m tryin’ to figure out how to get you out of here.”

She giggled as she started to slide back down again. “M’legs don’ work. Yer gonna hafta carry me outta here.”

Lifting the captain wasn’t difficult and he quickly had her up off the floor and into his arms even though she seemed determined to make it more difficult. “Stop squirmin’ or I’ll drop you.” She stilled and gave him a smirk. “Just remember who’s here bailin’ you out of this jam.”

“Oh please, yer lovin’ this an’ ya know it. Ya finally get t’rescue yer damsel in distress.”

“You got me. It’s always been my dream to carry my drunk captain’s ass out of a cantina.”

“Y’aint allowed t’be mad at me right now, Corso. I’m fragile.”

Corso pushed the front door open with his foot and angled his body to get both of them through. After the alcohol, sweat, and blood infused congestion of the cantina, the air outside was almost a refreshing change. “Fragile, huh? Is that some Nar Shaddaa slang for wasted?” He chuckled, hoping to show her he wasn’t actually angry. “Someday you’re gonna have to tell me the story of your changin’ accent. I ain’t ever heard you drawl this much.”

 

“I got lotsa stories t’tell ya, Farmboy. Ya just gotta stick ‘round long ‘nough t’hear ‘em.”

“Didn’t I tell you already that I wasn’t goin’ anywhere? I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

They hadn’t gotten more than twenty feet away from the door when Shawnni stopped him by pressing her hand against his chest. “Stop. Stop stop stop. Oh kriff, I’m gonna be sick.” He set her down and helped her over to a nearby bench, draping her over the back so she could get sick into the scraggly bushes behind it.

He held her dark hair back while she emptied the contents of her stomach. The retching seemed to go on forever. Several people passed by, none of them even cast the pair a second look, so used to the scene as they were. Corso felt moderately exposed out here. At any time someone looking for a fight might come out and think they were easy pickings. But he was more concerned with how much the captain was throwing up. From the sounds of it a person would think she’d drunk nearly the entire cantina inventory.

Groaning, the captain pushed herself back up, stopping to swipe at her mouth with the back of her hand. She turned her body so that she could slide into a sitting position on the bench, leaning against Corso as he followed suit. “Uuuuugh...betcha I’m gonna need a ton of stims tomorrow.”

“Seems likely.” He reached into his jacket to pull out his comm. “You just rest there for a bit. I’m gonna comm Risha and let her know I’m bringing you home.” He punched in the ship’s frequency and Risha answered almost immediately.

“Please tell me you got her.”

“I got her.” He turned the comm to show her. “It’ll be awhile before we get back, though. She’s in bad shape.”

“Thanks the force. I’ll get some stims ready for when you get back.”

“Thanks Risha.” He switched off the comm and stashed it back in his coat. “Okay, Captain, you think you’re ready to try this again?”

“Can we jus’ sit here fer awhile?”

Corso took a moment to look around before responding. “Maybe we could move over there a ways,” he gestured over to another bench. “This one’s a little...fragrant.” He waited for her sloppy nod of agreement before lifting her back up, being careful not to jostle her too much in case she got sick again. Carrying her wasn’t difficult, but it was probably going to be a bit of a struggle to keep it up all the way to the lifts. When he stopped to ease her down onto the next bench, she immediately slumped against him.

They sat together in silence for some time with Corso checking on her frequently to make sure she hadn’t passed out again. She remained awake, but kept her eyes downcast. The quiet was disconcerting. He was so used to hearing her talk, sometimes non-stop. “You okay?”

“No.” She sighed heavily and moved her head to rest on his shoulder. A few more moments of silence passed before she spoke quietly. “Used t’live here. Me an’ my sisters were kids here...before we got sep’rated. Came here t’see if I could find someone who ‘membered us. Someone who could tell me where they went.”

“Oh.” The revelation made her current state much more understandable. “I didn’t know you had sisters.”

“‘Cause I never told ya, did I,” she snapped, her intoxication taking out some of the bite. “It ain’t ‘xactly somethin’ I go broadcastin’ to the galaxy.”

He wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. She obviously wanted to talk about it, but he didn’t really want her to start yelling at him if he said the wrong thing. Then again, they were probably going to be here for awhile waiting for her to sober up enough to walk under her own power. He swallowed hard and decided to bite the bullet. “So, what did you find?”

“I spent every credit I had on drinks an’ bribes. And what did it get me?” The question was asked with a frustrated flourish of her hand. “Dead ends ‘n skeletons. No one remembers anythin’ about three poor, neglected kids that lived here fifteen years ago. Not when all t’other kids ‘round here are poor’n neglected. We were nothin’ out o’ t’ordinary.”

“I’m sorry.”

“S’not yer fault,” she said sadly. “Spent all m’credits and all I got in return is t’same broken heart this place gave me when I were ten.” She laughed then, but it was a harsh sound with no joy. “Shouldn’t say that. Also got back m’stupid accent that I spent years tryin’ to curb. And prolly alcohol poisonin’.”

“For what it’s worth, Captain, I don’t think your accent’s stupid,” he told her and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “Kinda reminds me of home. And, hey, when we’re done chasin’ down this fortune of Risha’s, if you want maybe we can try to find your sisters together.”

“Yer a sweet guy, Corso, and yer gonna make some girl real happy when ya get tired of this life ya fell into with me. I ain’t gonna ask ya to put yer life on hold just t’help me put mine back together.”

Corso sighed heavily, not wanting to imagine a life without his captain. “You don’t have to ask. I’ll be here for anythin’ you need. You just gotta holler and I’ll come runnin’.”


End file.
